A thoughtful examination of Dylans oeuvre through the lens
of Buddhism

In Bargainin', Heine, who is Professor of Religion and History
and Director of the Institute for Asian Studies at Florida
International University, interprets the oeuvre of Dylan's career
through a Zen Buddhist perspective and includes but digs much,
much deeper than Dylan's obvious Buddhist influences -- the
references in songs and interviews, his travels to Japan, his
kinship with Allen Ginsberg and other Beat writers who were
involved in Zen practice -- by presenting Dylan's entire career
trajectory as a demonstration of attainment of the "Middle
Way" in Buddhist teaching, or the avoidance of all extremes
and the refraining from opposing positions.

One of the mysteries of Bob Dylans incredible corpus is why
he seems to veer and zigzag so drastically and dramatically from
one extreme standpoint to another. Throughout his career, rapid,
radical transitions in musical style and public persona have
either inspired or shocked different sectors of his fans. Is
Dylans work complex and contradictory, or is there an
underlying consistency and continuity to its seemingly chaotic
ebb and flow?

Steven Heine argues that Dylan actually embraces two radically
distinct worldviews at alternating periods. One is prevalent in
his Protest (early 60s), Country (late 60s), and
Gospel (late 70s) phases; it finds Dylan expressing moral
outrage by endorsing a single higher truth based on a
right-versus-wrong philosophy. The second view appears during
periods of Dylans disillusionment in the mid 60s
(Desolation Row), mid 70s (Tangled Up in
Blue), and mid 80s (Jokerman), finding
him disenchanted with one-sided proclamations of truth, and
wandering, seemingly aimless, amid a relativistic world of masks
and disguises where nothing is ever what it claims to be.

Throughout his various stages, Dylans work reveals an
affinity with the Zen worldview, where enlightenment can be
attained through meditation, self-contemplation and intuition
rather than through faith and devotion. Much has been made of
Dylans Christian periods, but never before has a book
engaged Dylans deep and rich oeuvre through a Buddhist
lens. Forgoing Christianity and Western views for Zen and
Buddhism, Bargainin for Salvation will capture your
attention and direct it toward the East.